Letter from John Stoddart, Harrogate, to Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1801 October 9 : autograph manuscript signed with initial.

Referring to his invitation to Coleridge to come to Salisbury and discussing Coleridge's talent; saying "I write not to say any thing in opposition to your last but to inform you of my full acquiescence in it. My object was to procure you the tranquillity & seclusion at Salisbury which you seem to expect at Keswick - The secondary object (my own pleasure in your society) I willingly give up to your views of convenience. At the same time I think some of your pleas not the strongest in the world - those I mean which regard money & Mrs. Southey - but enough of that - for in fact I respect the feelings which you do not mention, more than the reasons which you do - one thing my dear Fellow I must request - that you never allude to the worth of your letters, by which I suppose you mean extrinsic worth - wit, poetry &c which may be valued by an indifferent person - To me the pen & ink part of the business is sufficiently valuable & S.T. Coleridge contains all the imagination I want - I admire you my dear Friend for your intellect but I love you for your heart - The man is indeed made up of both & therefore both should appear 'when there is no need of such vanities'; but it is quite enough if the heart is sent naked, & é contra a mail load of mind-trappings without it, is scarcely worth the postage - Beside, I shall begin to think that you appreciate my letters by their nullo-dullity which I am sure will give them in general a high rank in the negative scale - But this looks like scolding a phrase, when I should be praising a letter - With acquiescence my song began & with it my song shall end - I rejoice in the prospect of your being well & doing well at home - & when you come Southward I have only to request that you will find me out as soon as possible, whether at Salisbury or Somerton;" adding, in a postscript, "If you review my book at all (but do not let it break in on higher duties) I think you had better get it off your hands before you begin your own work;" including a full page titled "Skeleton of a Book on Language" with 24 topic titles listed beginning with Language and ending with Speech; adding "I fear the inclosed will give you a very imperfect notion of my speculations; but if you think it worth while to attempt to make it out, I will endeavour to explain any difficulty - The chief thing I have to request of you is to keep a book, or loose papers (written only on one side) to note for me any facts in language which may present themselves to you, without research - principally the Cumberland (or Low German &c) dialects. the peculiarities of Hartley's language &c. I do not much care about their order, or reference to any system."